“Ah!”
“Oh! Brother Moxi!”
“Ah!”
“Whose kid is this! Stop him!”
“Waaaahhh…”
For a moment, the whole room became chaotic, with screaming, running, and crying. Jiang Moxi, who had always been quiet and focused on his toys like the Rubik’s Cube, now seemed like a completely different person, chasing after Song Bazi and shooting him with a slingshot.
Song Jingshi was alarmed, but she didn’t dare to stop him for fear that the slingshot would hit her. Wang Qian took the crying baby from Song Jingshi’s hand and hid on the side, so that Jiang Moxi would not hurt the baby by mistake.
Jiang Moxi was Jiang Kangning’s nephew and his father was from the capital. Except for the Song family, the others only dared to persuade him and no one dared to really try to stop him. In fact, they didn’t want to stop him either. Song Bazi jumped around screaming.
Seeing that Jiang Moxi was dressed as a young master from his appearance and jade pendant hanging on his waist, he could see he was someone important and didn’t dare to take action. Seeing her husband being beaten badly, Song Jingshi sternly said, “You, if you hit again, I will also hit you! Stop!” Wang Shuping said coolly beside her, “He is the county magistrate’s nephew.”
“…” Song Bazi, who stopped in shock, was hit by another stone. Song Jingshi was startled. “What, what? The magistrate, the country magistrate’s nephew? Ouch!” Song Jingshi held her forehead, tears appearing due to pain.
The little stones in Jiang Moxi’s hand were gone. He emptied his pockets, but was unable to find any. He could only go out to find more stones, but was held in time by Uncle Zhou. Uncle Zhou sweated and tried to persuade him. “Brother Moxi, since you already vented your anger, let’s go home. Let’s go home. Your uncle Yunan and Shijing will be back in a while. Since you ran out like this Nizi, will be worried too.”
Jiang Moxi was also sweating, but he just looked at Grandpa Zhou and remained silent. Uncle Zhou stood up holding him and said to the beaten Song Bazi, “Go back. Nizi won’t see you. Wang Nizi said her grandfather is already dead.”
“Ah!” Song Bazi looked up in fear. Song Jingshi was angry and hurt. “Who, who said that to her? Her grandfather is still here!”
Wang Qian resentfully said, “Where is he? Since she was a baby he never appeared in front of her, even after her mother ran away. When Nizi was suffering at the Wang house, why didn’t Wang Nizi see her grandfather come to her? But now that Wang Nizi has someone who loves her, her grandfather has appeared?”
“Get out!” A childish roar startled the crowd. Jiang Moxi in Uncle Zhou’s arms glared viciously at Song Bazi, just like a little wolf cub. Song Jingshi shivered. The county magistrate’s nephew… Song Jingshi also retreated a little bit, but how could she just go back like this? If they went back like this today, how would they be able to come back in the future?
The village people gathered again to watch the fun. The county magistrate’s nephew went to Wang Wenhe’s house to ‘beat’ the Song family. Haha, this was really a great show.
A carriage drove into the entrance of the village, in which Wang Qing, Wang Yan, and Zhao Congbo, who had returned from school, were talking and laughing. The three children were quickly integrated with their classmates because of their school bags, lunch boxes, and snacks.
The three of them also had the knowledge and character to make new friends at the academy. Wang Qing’s best friend at the academy was Guo Yu, followed by Zou Wenzhe, little fatty Zou who always coveted his bento and snacks.
The carriage stopped and Wang Yan, who was usually the first to get off the carriage, thought that he always arrived home and said, “I’m here.” Just as he was about to lift the curtain he heard a voice from outside. “Brother Qing, come out quickly.”
Uncle He? Daddy? Wang Qing lifted the curtain of the carriage, as Zhou He ignored his own son and quickly said, “Brother Qing, your grandfather, step-grandmother, and uncle came. They want to see you, Nizi, and your father. Your father and Little Father still haven’t come back yet, so Wang Shuping brought your grandfather’s family to his house. Wang Nizi just kept crying when she heard about it, while Brother Moxi went to Uncle Shuping’s house to beat them. You can go home now and don’t let them see you.”
Wang Yan and Zhao Congbo froze. Wang Yan picked up his schoolbag and jumped out of the carriage. “I’m going home, Brother Qing, go back quickly.” Zhao Congbo also jumped out of the carriage. “I’m going too.”
Wang Qing pursed his lips, his expression was very unpleasant. Zhao He stroked his head. “Brother Qing, do you want to see them?” Wang Qing gripped the strap of his schoolbag and gritted his teeth. “I’m going to see them!”
“Brother Qing!”
“I don’t have a grandfather, since my grandfather died a long time ago!” Without taking his schoolbag, Wang Qing jumped off the carriage and ran after Wang Yan and Zhao Congbo as fast as he could. Zhao He said to Ding Yilin and Su Ce, who were sitting in front of the cart anxiously, “Go back and see if your master has come back from the mountain!”
“Su Ce, you go back, I will go.” Ding Yilin handed the reins to Su Ce, got off the carriage, and then chased after his little master, since he couldn’t let the second young master go alone. Su Ce looked at Zhao He and the second young master running in panic. He was so anxious that he whipped the horse, as he watched Zhao He go after Wang Qing.
The villagers once again gathered outside the gate of Wang Wenhe’s house, but this time it was not because they wanted to watch his clan become a joke. Due to Jiang Moxi’s status, the Song family didn’t dare to do anything, as they were shot with stones. Jiang Moxi, who was so tightly hugged by Grandpa Zhou that he couldn’t even move his hand, told the Song family to go away and kept struggling to get down from Grandpa Zhou’s arms to find more stones.
“Brother Qing is back!” Someone shouted from outside the house, followed by other voices saying “Wang Qing.” Song Bazi and Song Jingshi who were inside the house immediately looked outside. Wang Shuping also came out of the house. Soon, Wang Shiping led Wang Qing in, with Ding Yilin and Ding Sen standing behind him protectively. When Jiang Moxi saw Wang Qing, he struggled even more, making Uncle Zhou unable to hold him anymore and decided to put him down. Jiang Moxi ran to Wang Qing and handed out his slingshot.
Wang Qing didn’t look at the flustered Song Bazi and Song Jingshi and just said to Jiang Moxi, “Big brother, Nizi will be scared if you leave her home alone. You should go back first and stay with her. I will come back later.”
Jiang Moxi stared at Wang Qing for a few seconds then turned back to Song Bazi and Song Jingshi and yelled again, “Get lost!” Then he shoved the slingshot into Wang Qing’s hand and went out.
“I’ll send Brother Moxi back!” Wang Yan and Zhao Congbo tugged on Jiang Moxi and then two children took Jiang Moxi home after giving Wang Qing an encouraging look, with Ding Sen following them out.
Song Bazi opened his mouth softly. “Qing, little Qing.” Wang Qing looked at Song Bazi expressionlessly and spoke out, “Who are you?” Wow… The surrounding area erupted.
Song Bazi froze on the spot as Song Jingshi squeezed out a smile and said lovingly, “Qing, he is your grandfather. Don’t you recognize him? I am your grandmother.” Song Jingshi then pulled over her son, who had a swollen bump on his forehead. “This is your great-uncle.” She then looked around as she pointed to Wang Qian, who had just helped her hide her baby and now handed the child back to her, as it just stopped crying. Then Song Jingshi added, “This is your second uncle.”
Wang Qing looked at Song Bazi and Song Jingshi without any emotions and then said coldly, “My grandmother died a long time ago, so how could you be my grandmother? Don’t identify your relatives randomly.”
The smile that was originally squeezed on Song Jingshi’s face couldn’t hold anymore, as she was ridiculed by a small child like this. She then pulled Song Bazi to speak. Song Bazi didn’t dare to look at Wang Qing’s indifferent eyes, so he half turned his head and said, “Qing, Qing, I’m, uh, I’m, grandfather, don’t you remember me?”
“My grandfather also died a long time ago, so where did you come from?” Song Bazi looked up blankly. “Who, who told you that? Grandfather, grandfather is still alive?”
Wang Qing said, “My mother has been gone for a long time. Me and Nizi were treated like servants, but my grandfather never showed up. Some people went to Qingshan Village to look for my grandfather, but they only found an empty house with no one there. If he was not dead, then what? Where was he? If he was not dead, how could Wang Nizi never meet him since she was born?”
“How could he not be dead? You say you are my grandfather, but can you prove it? My grandmother died long ago and I even visited her grave. So can this old woman dare to lie about being my grandmother and dare to say that this person is my uncle? My uncle is the county magistrate and I want to tell my uncle that you pretend to be my relatives and you are fraudsters!”
Fraudsters, what was that? This term didn’t exist in the Great State of Yan. But Wang Qing didn’t care if they knew what a fraudster was or not. He just turned to Wang Shuping and said, “Uncle Shuping, my father and Little Father are not at home, so take me to my uncle so I can ask him to send someone to arrest these fraudsters.”
Send someone to arrest? Song Bazi became dizzy and even Song Jingshi panicked. “We are really your grandparents! I, I am your grandma from a second marriage! He, he is your grandpa’s stepson, so we are really your grandpa, grandma, and uncle!”
“How dare you call him my grandfather when he was gone for so long? How dare you, a wife he married later, call yourself my grandmother? A stepson also dared to be called uncle by me? Is my grandfather, grandmother, and uncle really so cheap?”
Song Bazi stammered and said anxiously, “I, I am really your grandfather, Song Bazi! Brother Qing, do you really not remember grandpa? Grandpa was just working outside. No, I don’t know, you, you…” Under Wang Qing’s icy gaze, Song Bazi’s voice became lower and lower, unable to tell a lie that even he felt guilty about.
Wang Qing said, “I don’t remember seeing my grandfather, let alone knowing what my grandfather looked like. I only know that he died. Besides, even if he didn’t die, what does that have to do with me? My mother left me and Nizi and ran away, and my father would have taken her to the Yamen if it weren’t for mine and Nizi sake. We don’t have a mother. We only have a father and Little Father, and we don’t have any grandparents or uncles of unknown origin. If you dare to come here again, I will let my uncle arrest you!”
Dropping his harsh words, Wang Qing turned around and left. Song Bazi watched Wang Qing leave in a daze, the corners of his eyes red for some reason. Song Jingshi seeing that her husband just let Wang Qing say those words without refuting them, she as a grandmother in name only, had no confidence to stop him. Song Jingshi hugged the child and imitated Old Lady Wang, crying as soon as she sat on the ground.
“What kind of world is this… Grandson doesn’t even recognize his own grandpa when he has money… It’s really chilling…”
“I thought Wang Zhu was shameless enough, but I didn’t think there were others as shameless as her.” Song Jingshi’s crying immediately stopped, but because she cried so much, the baby in her arms became scared and started to cry again.
Aunt Wang came over and said with contempt, “Bringing a newborn child to blackmail people for money. You are really not afraid of stabbing people in the back. What are you doing sitting here, waiting for someone to help you? You are from Qingshan Village and came to Xiushui Village to spill your grievances? I don’t care who you are, but I am Qing’s fourth grandmother. Go back to where you came from. Qing doesn’t know you, so if you come again in the future, don’t blame our Xiushui Village for beating you up. Just go out.”
Fourth Aunt Wang heard about the current situation, just as she came back from the county town.Since both Shao Yunan and Wang Shijing were not at home, she hurried over, so that Wang Qing would not be bullied. But Wang Qing was really impressive.
Zhao Zheng appeared at this time and said, “Just go. Brother Qing and Nizi both said that their grandpa died a long time ago, so don’t humiliate yourself any more. You have to bear the sins you have committed, so don’t count on Shijing or Nizi. It will be even more embarrassing for you when Yunan comes back.”
Song Bazi’s hand trembled as he picked up his crying son from his wife’s arms with one hand and dragged his wife with the other, as he spoke in a low voice. “L-lets’go.”
“I won’t go!” Song Jingshi broke away from Song Bazi’s hand and cried out, “Your Xiushui Village is full of bullies… you just bully people…”
“If we really bullied you, have some guts and go to the Yamen to sue us.” There was a momentary silence on the scene, even Song Jingshi stopped crying. The people inside the house subconsciously stood to the two sides, parting to give the newcomer a way through.
Outside the door, Wang Qing, who had already left, came back with someone holding his hand. The person holding his hand looked only around sixteen or seventeen years old. A very young and handsome teenage boy. He was wearing an ordinary gray cotton robe with a pair of cloth shoes stained with mud, but his imposing manner and flaming eyes made people feel cold for no reason.
“Yunan!”
“Yunan, you are back!”
Yunan?! Song Bazi and Song Jingshi simultaneously jolted at the same time. Yunan? Wang Shijing’s remarried male wife?